"It shows the hard work he has put off the field" - Wasim Jaffer impressed with Rishabh Pant's glovework
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer heaped praise on Rishabh Pant's glovework during Day 4 of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram no December 17. Jaffer feels the youngster's improved showing behind the stumps reflects the hard work he has put in.
Pant, now India's first-choice keeper in Test cricket, was outstanding on Day 4 as Bangladesh showed great resilience to take the game to Day 5. The Delhi-born cricketer took a relay catch to dismiss Nazmul Hasan Shanto as he showed great alertness after Virat Kohli dropped it. He also affected a stumping of Nurul Hasan during the closing moments of the day.
A solid relay catch to break the solid partnership 🤯
#TeamIndia gets the much-needed breakthrough courtesy of brilliant reflexes from @RishabhPant17 🙌
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Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Jaffer stated that it's not easy to keep wickets in the sub-continent but felt Pant's skills are coming up there with MS Dhoni.
"Pant's keeping was impressive. For a long time, Pant's keeping has gotten better and better. It's not easy to keep wickets in India or the sub-continent. It shows the hard work he has put off the field because his keeping has truly been top-notch."
He added:
"Although he missed a catch off Umesh Yadav's bowling, but the way he has kept against the spinners and affected Nurul Hasan's stumping, it's been phenomenal."
Jaffer also opined that Pant must keep getting better behind the stumps, with India's critical series against Australia upcoming in February.
"It's a good thing because we haven't found a good gloveman after MS Dhoni, so I feel Pant is slowly getting up there. As I mentioned, in the sub-continent, where spin is a significant factor and India have a big series against Australia. So, Pant being behind the stumps and doing well is critical."
Jaffer also praised Zakir Hasan for mitigating Ravichandran Ashwin's threat well and hailed Bangladesh's batters for trusting their defensive technique:
"I think the way Zakir Hasan negated Ashwin, he reduced the threat. Only a few left-handers play well against Ashwin even though he dismissed him later."
He added:
"However, the way Zakir played him earlier and Shanto also batted well, so we must praise Bangladesh's batters. The way they have played the Indian bowlers, albeit defensively, have shown good technique."
Dissecting Axar Patel's impactful performance on day four, Jaffer continued:
"I feel Axar was the best of the lot. When Axar gets spin, he becomes a lot more dangerous as it turns with pace. We also got to see in the form of Mushfiqur Rahim's wicket as he surprised him. He also removed Yasir Ali and Nurul Hasan. So, he picked three big wickets."
He added:
"Axar was the most impressive. I reckon Ashwin would be thinking he could've had more impact. However, he doesn't play a lot of cricket, but you always expect him to keep getting better at this stage."
Axar, who snared a whopping 27 wickets in his debut series, was India's best bowler on Day 4 against Bangladesh. The left-arm spinner bagged figures of 27-10-50-3, taking the crucial wickets of Yasir Ali and Mushfiqur Rahim.
"I felt he went under bowled" - Wasim Jaffer on Kuldeep Yadav
Jaffer further stated that Kuldeep Yadav's lack of bowling enough overs surprised him, given that Bangladesh's batters found it challenging to read the wrist-spinner. He stated:
"Barring the last few overs, he had bowled only 14 overs even though Ashwin and Axar are senior bowlers. However, the kind of impact, Kuldeep has had, you expect him to bowl a lot more and earlier, we didn't get to see that. That tactic surprised me."
He added:
"We also saw that Litton Das struggled a bit and one of those deliveries went to slips off Mehidy Hasan's bat. Most batters struggle to read him, so I felt he went under bowled. If he had bowled a little more and a consistent spell would have made him more impactful."
Bangladesh vs India: 1st Test, Stumps Day 4
Bangladesh need 241 runs to win.
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The hosts require a further 241 runs on Day 5, while India need four wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.